"At times, he makes it difficult for himself" – Jaap Stam insists Liverpool star's positioning can be further improved

Ex-Manchester United star Jaap Stam has stated that Liverpool ace Virgil van Dijk should attempt to improve his defensive positioning.

Van Dijk, 32, endured a difficult time at the heart of a leaky defence in the 2022-23 season. He failed to guide the Anfield club to a top four spot in the Premier League for the first time in seven campaigns.

Owing to his uncharacteristically poor performances past term, the Dutchman was criticized by Netherlands greats like Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit earlier this year. Now, Stam has offered his take on Van Dijk, telling Stick To Football podcast (h/t Rousing The Kop):

"He does [get criticized]. The feeling is communication-wise he is not doing enough. His leadership on the pitch, he needs to do more, especially when the team is not playing well. He needs to be the one to tell the players what to do and put them in positions to make a difference. They say he's not doing that."

Asked if the criticism was fair on the Liverpool captain, Stam replied:

"I find it hard to see on the pitch on television, from the games I am seeing. Sometimes you are looking at a defender and seeing what he is doing and I think he is trying to [be better]. I don't know if it's fair to be honest. He's of a certain age, if you can talk about improvement, certain things he can improve or do differently."

When queried about where Van Dijk should improve, Stam responded:

"His positioning. I think at times, he makes it difficult for himself. Sometimes he needs to chase when he doesn't want to chase. He is stepping up trying to catch players offside but if his positioning is a bit better and he steps a bit more back he can solve a lot of things for himself, so you don't get done on transition on the counter."

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp jumps to Virgil van Dijk's defence, calls captain 'important'

Ahead of his side's 2-1 win at Crystal Palace earlier this month, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was queried to opine on Virgil van Dijk's form. He responded (h/t The Echo):

"Virgil is the best defender in the world. Did he have lesser good spells? Yes. Show me someone who never had. Was Rio Ferdinand always perfect? Jaap Stam? Sami Hyypia? Nobody was and nobody ever will be. He's super important."

Van Dijk, who joined Liverpool from Southampton for £75 million in 2018, has been key to the Reds' ongoing Premier League title charge. He has helped his club keep four shutouts in 15 appearances across competitions so far this season, recording one goal and two assists.

So far, Van Dijk has registered 20 goals and 14 assists in 237 games for Liverpool. He has also helped his current team lift seven trophies.